Contentious Actors on Social Media and
Implications for Advocacy in Digital Democracy


Allison Koh

PhD Researcher


Department of Political Economy
King’s College London
July 4, 2023

Background




Education 🎓

  • PhD in Political Science at the Hertie School, exp. 2023
  • MPP in Policy Analysis at the Hertie School, 2020
  • BSc in Economics and Asian Studies at Tulane University, 2016

Methods Experience 📊

  • Observational and quasi-experimental research designs
  • Computational social science
  • Social media data and APIs
  • Surveys

Affiliations 👥

Current Research

Pro-Government Social Media on the Global Stage

Pro-Government Social Media on the Global Stage

  • Increasing importance of foreign platforms in states’ social media strategies
  • How do authoritarian regimes use social media to shape the global public sphere?
    • What is the strategic use of foreign platforms for deterring diaspora dissent?
    • How do pro-government actors evade accountability for attacking activists abroad?
    • Do sudden changes in platform policy affect the global influence of state actors?

How do authoritarian regimes use social media to shape the global public sphere?

They can leverage facets of national identity to discredit diaspora regime critics.

Hypotheses

  • Gender: Women easier to attack
  • Language of the “oppressor”

Case study on Pro-CCP Twitter’s communication with Uyghur activists-in-exile


Method for stance detection

  • Multilingual BERT + Active Learning

How do authoritarian regimes use social media to shape the global public sphere?

They benefit from platform policies that expand the reach of state actors globally.

How do authoritarian regimes use social media to shape the global public sphere?

They benefit from platform policies that expand the reach of state actors globally.

Main Takeaways


We should pay attention to how digital autocrats manipulate information on foreign platforms.


  Empirical findings  

  • Foreign platforms are becoming safer spaces for overt state influence.
  • Pro-government actors without visible affiliations face limited constraints.


  Implications for democracy  

  • Impacts on the domestic politics of targeted countries go beyond elections.
  • Similar strategies are used by contentious actors in democracies.

Contributions to ADVODID

LGBTQ+ and Anti-LGBTQ+ Advocacy in Digital Democracy


 

 

[Anti-]LGBTQ+ Advocacy \(\leftrightarrow\) Politics

  • Global increase in Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in 2023
  • Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation spans multiple issue areas
  • Social media accelerates online and offline organizing around LGBTQ+ politics
    (Ritholtz, Koh, and Gohdes 2022)

Research Questions

  Use  

  • How are openly LGBTQ+ politicians represented in online and offline debates about LGBTQ+ policy?
  • Are some interest group types more responsive to online debates about LGBTQ+ discourse compared to others?

  Impact  

  • What are the effects of politicians’ social media discussions around LGBTQ+ issues on offline and offline protest participation?
  • Compared to anti-LGBTQ+ groups, are pro-LGBTQ+ groups more likely to respond to social media calls to action?

  Democratic Consequences  

  • What is the relationship between citizens’ participation in anti-LGBTQ+ discourse on social media and support for right-wing policies?
  • How does a government’s technical capacity factor into politicians’ involvement in online discussions around LGBTQ+ politics?

Collaborations at Kings College London


ADVODID

  • Theory Development ↔︎️ Computational Methods
  • Ties to SoMeRep: Underrepresented groups and political discourse

Department of Political Economy

  • Research Groups: Quantitative Political Economy (QPE), Comparative Politics
  • Initiatives for early career researchers

Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy

  • Global Network on Extremism & Technology (Department of War Studies)

Thank you!

koh@hertie-school.org

https://allisonkoh.github.io/

@allisonwkoh@mastodon.social🎓

@allisonwkoh@fosstodon.org📊

@allisonkoh_

References

Ritholtz, Samuel, Allison Koh, and Anita Gohdes. 2022. “Fanning the Flames of Hate: The Transnational Diffusion of Online Anti-LGBT+ Rhetoric and Offline Mobilisation.” GNET.